Gun Advice

[porter sage]

Hi, im new to reenacting and need a musket. im tight on money so I was looking at Middlesex Trading co. or Loyalist arms. i need a 3 band 1853 enfield. any advice?
Thanks

[FloridaHoosier]

Welcome to the forum and to reenacting. This site has had numerous discussions of this very query, and if you type in Middlesex or Loyalist Arms in the search box (the white bar on the blue bar above next to the magnifying glass icon) you'll find several of those discussions that may answer what you need. This is a very polarizing topic for reenactors, and opinions vary greatly....

[Boyd Miles]

This is a very polarizing topic for reenactors, and opinions vary greatly....

That's right about funny, you are a master of understatement.

[lincolnsguard]

Hi, im new to reenacting and need a musket. im tight on money so I was looking at Middlesex Trading co. or Loyalist arms. i need a 3 band 1853 enfield. any advice?
Thanks

Be patient, save your money. Wait for something good and used. If you can wait until after July of next year, you'll have plenty of stuff to choose from.

[MarkTK36thIL]

Talk to the unit you joined, and save your money until you can buy your own. Most unit members have a musket, or five, for different impressions and loaners.

[S.D.Swart]

Save your Money up. Use a loaner. Should not be hard to get a loaner if you take care of it, and CLEAN it well before returning it.

Why a Enfield, unless it is a original, you will be doing quite a bit of defarb work if you want one that is accurate. By the time you get all the defarb work done, you could have bought a decent original. Best reproduction still in production is the Armi Sport 1842 smoothbore, and very underrepresented. Very little defarb work is needed, and thus the cost overall is less.

[Boyd Miles]

Save your Money up. Use a loaner. Should not be hard to get a loaner if you take care of it, and CLEAN it well before returning it.

And before you ask you can search for how to clean a musket here to see another way to start an argument.

[cooperteague]

I would agree with everything said thus far.

You said your tight on money(who isn't now days?), so I suggest frugality. Get a good uniform together first and borrowing a weapon for a while.

If the unit your associated with is anything like mine it can probably outfit an entire other company with the spare weapons we bring to an event.

A long arm is a fairly substantial investment and most veteran reenactors are understanding about not having one, at least for a while.

I also agree with returning it clean, but would suggest having the owner instruct you as to how they want it done(you SHOULD be able to watch him clean HIS weapon sometime after the battle(s).) Your far more likely to be able to borrow it again if the owner doesn't have to clean it himself.

I let folks use my spares all the time, I'm more than happy to show them how to clean it.

That's my $0.02, your milage may very.

[Daniel Limb]

Better a quality used musket than a spotty new one. I have been seeing fairly decent deals on used out-of-the-box (not defarbed) enfields on thus forum for prices that match or slightly exceed the price of some of the new ones from LA or Middlesex.

With muskets, you get what you pay for, and it is better to pay a little more. The price you pay for low quality firearms can be much higher, if you get my meaning.

Dan Limb
Thriftstore Commandoes Mess

[Rob Weaver]

Since you're new to reenacting, you may not be familiar with the term "de-farbed" that's getting used. It means having someone remove the modern markings on the musket and replacing them with correct period markings. It doesn't have to be done only when the musket is brand new, though. Also, many reenactors never choose to take that step with their guns. I have 4 and none of them are defarbed. Check with your unit. Keep your eyes peeled for a used musket, defarbed or not. You'll save yourself a good bit of money up front.